The Downfall & The Resurgence
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: They needed a change to get things going in the right direction after The Authority was disbanded... but little did Hunter and Stephanie know that what the change made to Finn and Amanda would bring. (Authority permanently disbanded after Survivor Series 2014, Tv-14 AU)
1. Chapter 1: Pulled Out From Under Me

_**11/26/14, WWE NXT…**_

" _We need something different, what are we doing wrong? The fans normally go crazy here!" Stephanie says, Hunter thinking… and nearby, he saw a small brunette assorting some of the paint._

 _Amanda was clearly lost in thought, having watched some of the videos of Finn during his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling._

' _Could I pull it off?' Amanda thought, looking at the open sketchbook she kept with her and the drawing of white, black and silver angel wings, Angel Of Hell circled on top of the page… she turned around and nearly jumped out of her white lace skinny leg romper she was wearing, Hunter steadying her shaking form._

" _Sorry about scaring you, kiddo." Hunter says, Stephanie seeing the drawing._

" _Mandy, this is amazing… sweetheart, you might've just given us the best idea! Finn!" Stephanie says enthusiastically, shouting the last part which had sent Finn running to them._

" _Is everything okay?!" Finn asks, him and Amanda hugging for a few seconds._

" _Better than okay, remember how we were talking about bringing your Demon King persona to Tv?" Stephanie says, asking the last part and Finn nodding. "Well, we just found your Demon Mistress." She says, handing the sketchbook to Finn, who looked through the drawings and looked at Amanda._

" _Mandy, you drew these? They're amazing, you're a hell of an artist." Finn says, a slight scarlet flush surfacing in Amanda's face as she smiled._

" _So what do you say? You on board with us, Mandy?" Stephanie asks._

" _Hell yeah, let's do it!" Amanda managed to say once she regained control of her voice._

 **Present time,** _ **WWE NXT Tapings (10/28/15, scheduled to air 11/4/15 & 11/11/15)**_ **…**

"I think Joe took his Heel turn too seriously to start off… how you feeling, Mandy?" Finn says after the two friends helped each other backstage into their locker room.

But the second they walked in, both sprawled out onto the floor to try to let the cool marble soothe their sore bodies as Amanda readjusted her black lace skinny pants and Black Sabbath: Heaven And Hell racerback tank top.

"For a small woman who got punched... and kicked in the back and legs by our friend… not as bad as I thought." Amanda manages to say… but Finn knew that the petite 25 year old next to him was partly lying as she hadn't made any attempt to get off of the floor.

Then again, the 34 year old wasn't in the mood to do anything other than lie down next to her.

Amanda groaned slightly as she turned onto her right side, Finn putting his left arm around her.

"That really fucking hurt out there… I feel like Joe was trying to murder us." Amanda says quietly, attempting to curl her legs to herself like she normally did when hurting but let out a painful cry when moving them made her feel worse.

But something forced the two to sit up… or specifically, a sharp smacking sound and Joe shouting "Ow, damn it!"

"That went too far out there! What are you trying to do, murder them?!" A female voice unfamiliar to Finn and Amanda screamed.

"Liara, chill! It's all part of the show!" Another unfamiliar voice called out, this one male.

Amanda felt Finn's right arm lock around her to steady her shaky frame, both heading into the hallway to investigate the source of the commotion.

"The hell is going on out here?!" Finn asks, Joe, Liara and another person looking at them… but judging how close Liara and the other man were standing, they were either lovers or close friends.

"See what I mean Ty? They can barely walk!" Liara says.

"We're all sore from head to toe afterwards… these events get physical." Joe says, Liara glaring at him.

"You tossed her into the fucking barricade, she's half your damn size!" Liara yells, Finn holding onto Amanda when she tried to walk over and keep the fight from escalating.

"Yes I did and she still pulled herself up and ran into the ring… I got a bit too reckless but maybe it'll teach her not to cross lines that she shouldn't." Joe says.

Amanda turned a mix of hurt and angry at hearing that… and before she could stop herself, she stormed over and kicked her right foot up between Joe's legs, Joe groaning as he fell and Finn running over and pulling Amanda back to him.

"A decade of friendship and you flush it by saying that, Joe?! What the hell's gotten into you?!" Amanda hissed through gritted teeth as tears streamed down her face, Finn's hands resting on the part of her where her waist and hips connect as Joe pulled himself up.

"You changed when he walked into your life." Joe said through the pain.

"She started to heal. She's been kicked down too many times, I steadied her back onto her feet and onto stable ground, Joe!" Finn says, pulling Amanda to him and keeping his arms around her as she didn't want anyone to see her cry.

"All you did was make her your slut just like Randy made her his mistress 9 years ago! She's no better now than she was then!" Joe yells, Finn tackling him to the ground after letting go of Amanda.

The fight escalated and ended with Finn throwing Joe through the table in catering as Amanda, Ty and Liara chasing after them.

Finn was about to strangle Joe but felt Amanda's hands on him and looked at her, the silence meaning _"Don't kill him!"_ , Finn turning back to Joe.

"She's no slut, Joe! Get up and fuck off!" Finn growled, Joe pulling himself up and leaving and Finn pulling Amanda into his arms, the two embracing each other.

"That could've gone horribly wrong." Ty says quietly, Liara nodding.

"You were gonna kill him…" Amanda whispered.

"He almost killed you out there…" Finn whispered, brushing Amanda's tears away.

The two headed away from the area, Liara and Ty following.


	2. Chapter 2: Comfort After Hell

Amanda packed her things into her bag and zipped it as Finn, now cleaned off and in normal clothes, walked to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Friends fight… sometimes I wonder why Joe and I even bother talking at times." Amanda says, lightly shuffling her right foot back and forth, the black leather boots feeling like a second skin to her… but right now, she felt like taking a warm bubble bath to soothe her painful body.

She was also trying to repress her feelings about what had happened, Finn knew that.

"Please don't shut down, Mandy… what Joe said and did hurt you." Finn says, Amanda leaning against him as his arms carefully wrapped around her waist.

"It did… he was my friend since I was 15 and it fucking hurt! Now I want to make him hurt! All we did was change how we are on Tv and people are turning against us for that..." Amanda says, brushing her tears away. "It's not fair, Finn… it hurts. You make me feel stable after everything… why do the others hate that?" She says after turning around to him and having to look up because he was almost a foot taller than her, his right hand resting on her back and his left hand lightly cupping the right side of her face.

"It isn't fair… it doesn't affect them, love. How they're reacting to it, that's not fair either." Finn says, the two of them hugging again.

At the same time, Liara looked up and saw Dean.

"Have you seen a small woman around here? Long curly brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, hazel eyes, 25 years old?" Dean asks.

"Yeah, after her 'friend' was utterly heartless and broke her." Liara says, a bit of anger showing through.

"I could really kill Joe for what he did on the taping… but that's not the full extent, is it?" Dean says, following Liara.

"Not even close… this fucking world has its share of raging assholes." Liara says before she knocked on the door and opened it, Dean immediately seeing Amanda in Finn's arms as the two didn't want their hug to end just yet.

Dean knocked on the door, both of them looking at him and Amanda's face red and tearstained.

"I… I didn't think you were here, Dean." Amanda says before she and Finn let go and she and Dean hugged.

"Always here for you, kiddo." Dean says, kissing Amanda's forehead as Liara saw that Ty had found the others, Liara walking to them.

"How's that girl holding up? Ty said that things when south really quickly." JJ says.

"She's hurting… it was bad when things got physical out there but what he said… it was the equivalent to taking a knife and putting it in her heart." Liara says before they met up with Finn, Amanda and Dean.

"I'm gonna drive these two on home, y'all want a ride?" Dean asks, Amanda's duffel bag on Finn's left shoulder as his right arm was wrapped around her back and she leaned against him in a tired manner.

"Maybe we should stop and grab some food first… don't want her drinking on an empty stomach." Finn says.

"Good idea." JJ says before they all left.

After stopping and grabbing McDonalds, everyone headed home and Amanda got cleaned up before returning downstairs in warm pajamas, no longer sore because of the hot shower. She ate with everyone, leaning against Finn and him wrapping his arms around her after she drank two glasses of bourbon.

"Not much of a drinker?" Ty asks.

"I only drink the hard liquor without it mixed with anything after a bad day." Amanda says, trying to pour a third glass but Finn stopped her.

"Best not to drink much more of it, Mandy…" Finn says, Amanda burying her head into his right shoulder as _Patience_ by Guns N Roses played at a low volume on the radio.

Amanda relaxed a little more, curling her legs up towards herself and Finn resting his right hand on her right thigh and wrapping his left arm across her waist as he was also relaxed from the alcohol.

Amanda wasn't gonna lie, the way Finn was touching her felt so good after the way that tonight had spiralled.

But Liara saw Dean tense up slightly and lightly swatted his right arm, knowing it was his overprotective nature.

"I know you see her as a little sister but calm down… he's a good guy." Liara whispered.

Dean nodded… but he was still worried.

 **The next morning…**

Amanda woke up to hear _Heaven & Hell _by Black Sabbath playing on her phone and pulled the covers over her head, feeling the warm arms around her that belonged to Finn before she pulled the covers down and saw him looking at her sleepily.

"You fell asleep in my arms when we were both on the couch last night… I didn't feel right leaving you alone after what happened." Finn says before checking Amanda's phone after it stopped ringing and seeing a missed call from Seth.

"Did I drink more than those two glasses of bourbon?" Amanda asks.

"Dean hid the bottle from us… though I think he might've drank some of it too." Finn says, both seeing Dean passed out on the floor and snoring away.

Finn and Amanda carefully pulled themselves to where they were sitting, Finn standing up and walking over to Dean.

"Come on, Lunatic Fringe. Damn, you're dead weight now." Finn says, dragging Dean up to his feet as Amanda rubbed her sleepy eyes.

The next thing she heard was Dean screaming and cursing as Finn held Dean's head under the faucet and water poured onto Dean.

"It's fucking cold, Balor!" Dean yelled.

"Serves ya right for getting piss drunk, Ambrose!" Finn says, finally shutting the water off and letting Dean straighten himself up before tossing a towel to him.

Dean dried himself off before setting the towel on the hook and seeing Amanda, the two quickly hugging before he headed downstairs to fully sober up.

Amanda heard her phone ring again but put the number on her block list when she saw that it was Joe, Finn resting his left hand on her back and his right hand on her right side.

It was gonna take some time before any of the two spoke to Joe… if they calmed down enough to.


	3. Chapter 3: Wicked In Her Ways

_**Two weeks earlier…**_

" _How in hell's name did you get all the way up there, lass?!" Finn asks when he had finally found Amanda._

 _To his surprise, she was on the top of the scaffolding that was half set up and both knew it was dangerous… but Finn also knew that Amanda had a daredevil side to her, judging from her fighting a 'Damn, he caught me.' look on her face._

" _Slipped away from Joe long enough to climb this thing… haven't actually climbed one since 2010 so my jumping off it might be a bit rusty-" Amanda says, Finn immediately climbing up the scaffolding and snaking his right arm around her._

" _You're not jumping off here and breaking your neck and spine, Mandy. Hang onto me, I'll get us both down from here." Finn says, Amanda hanging onto his back as he climbed down._

 _Her arms around his shoulders and her upper legs under his hands, Finn took Amanda to the backstage area where Joe was busy talking to Baron about tonight's show and Amanda and Joe glancing at each other._

 _But Joe's eyes narrowed when he saw Finn._

" _Things have been too tense around here lately…" Amanda says quietly, Finn nodding in agreement._

" _I've got an idea." Finn says, spinning around and making Amanda laugh._

 _Baron noticed the aggravation in Joe's face and nudged him, Joe reluctantly calming down._

 _But he wouldn't for long…_

 **Present time…**

Liara could see it clear as day as Amanda was setting a pair of lace and leather leggings in the bag, the hesitant look on her face.

"I think you can pull it off." Liara says, Amanda looking at her. "The rockstar/bad girl look." She says.

"I haven't worn leather pants in a while…" Amanda says, also setting a black cropped lace bustier in the bag and red stiletto heels.

Today was a more casual look, Amanda in black skinny jeans and a slightly oversized _Kiss: Hot In The Shade_ tour tank top, her hair pulled back into its usual ponytail and enough makeup on to hide that she still looked like she had been crying.

 _Heaven And Hell_ by Black Sabbath started to play on the radio, Amanda turning the volume up slightly.

"Ozzy took this band to prime time but Ronnie definitely raised the bar when he was the lead singer." Amanda says.

"They made good tracks throughout anyway." Liara says.

"Yes they did, even if Ozzy was high most of the time. But it was a different era, drugs were just starting out in the rockstar style life." Amanda says.

"Yeah… now when a star publically does drugs, they lose their fame and popularity, and probably their freedom too by means of the law." Liara says.

"Yep, that's happened to countless stars." Amanda says, her phone ringing again and her seeing that it was Seth. "Yes, I know I didn't call you back right away. I had a rough night." She says after answering it, Seth noticing that her voice was rough instead of its usual softness.

"Get your ass down from there!" Liara shouted at Ty, who was on the railing of the stairs, the shouting startling Seth.

"Who was that?!" Seth asks.

"I'll explain once we're back on the road, okay? It's a long story, Seth." Amanda says, the two hanging up.

The days went by with the gang getting to know Amanda and the others… and then Monday rolled around.

Colorado was like Florida most of the year but got really frigid around November… Amanda stared at herself in the mirror after changing into her leather and lace outfit and sitting down, putting her stilettos on before she stood up again.

Amanda's makeup was in its usual style, a cat eye look… but she had a silver eyeshadow on and berry colored blush along with berry lipgloss.

The door opened and Finn walked into the locker room and lightly tugged on Amanda's curls.

"Not funny…" Amanda says, her voice partially stuck in her throat as Finn was looking at her.

He noticed how the lace hugged her tiny frame, the leather looking more like it was painted onto her.

"I think if I did this… when we head down to the ring for my non televised match…" Finn says once he had regained control of his voice and stood behind Amanda, his left arm encircling her waist and his right hand resting on her right hip.

Finn was trying to remember what he was going to say but bit down on his lower lip to muffle a groan as his ring trunks became uncomfortably tight.

' _Go down before she notices, damn it!'_ Finn thought, cursing himself.

"Enjoying yourself there?" Amanda managed to ask, a small and slightly teasing chuckle escaping her mouth and both knew it was a good natured one… but Finn knew that she had caught onto him.

"Anyone ever tell you… just how beautiful you are?" Finn asked in a whisper, his right hand sliding up from Amanda's right hip and onto her back, his thumb lightly stroking her skin.

Amanda closed her eyes and let out a noise of contentment, reaching her left hand behind her and lightly squeezing Finn's left hip… Finn reacted by bringing his right hand up and resting it on Amanda's sternum, feeling her heart beating under his skin as it sent shivers up his arm and into him.

But just as they were about to give in, they heard the door open.

"Okay, this is a family friendly environment! And don't grope my niece, Balor!"

Finn and Amanda jumped and turned around, seeing Sting.

"Steve… hey." Amanda managed to say, instinctively calling Sting by his real name as hers and Finn's faces both a light shade of red.

"We went back to Tv-14 a while ago but backstage, there are young kids running around at times." Sting says.

"I better go talk to him…" Amanda says, Finn kissing her on her forehead before Amanda and Sting left the locker room and walked down the hall.

"You're seriously wicked, kiddo. Wearing that outfit, you're driving him crazy." Sting says, laughing slightly.

"Okay so the lines are blurring a bit…" Amanda says.

"Mandy… are you attracted to him?" Sting asked.

Amanda shuffled her right foot back and forth slightly.

Nearby, Seth could hear the conversation… and felt his blood start to boil because he knew it was about Finn.

Seth's protective nature got the best of him at times and he felt like he was losing it.


End file.
